2/22/2018 1:48:39 PM

Vietnam welcomes more than 1.43 million foreign visitors in January

Foreign arrivals to Vietnam in the first month of the year have surpassed 1.43 million, up 42% against the same period last year and 12.1% more than December 2017, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam on January 29.

Visitors from the EU, US, and Australia rose high because of increasing numbers of overseas Vietnamese living in these countries making their return home for the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) and the high demand for winter vacations among people in the EU and US.

In January, more than 1 million Asian tourists visited Vietnam, up 53.9% over January of last year. Visitor numbers from most Asian markets swelled significantly, such as China (up 69%), the Republic of Korea (up 84%), Taiwan (up 22.9%), Malaysia (up 35.5%), Thailand (11.3%), Singapore (up 16%), and Cambodia (up 36.6%). Repeating the trend, tourist numbers from the EU surged by 22.8%.

Illustrative photo. Foreign visitors to Vietnam

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said that from early January, the tourism sector has actively implemented tourism promotion measures to lure visitors, as it endeavours to fulfill a target of receiving 15-17 million foreign visitors this year.

As part its efforts, Vietnam joined ASEAN Tourism Forum 2018 in Thailand with a wide range of activities such as building a joint tourism pavilion, and organizing a “Vietnam Night” event to showcase the country’s tourism and its role in hosting the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 in Ha Long, Quang Ninh province. Vietnam won 14 ASEAN tourism awards at the event.

Last year, the country welcomed nearly 13 million foreign visitors, and served 74 million domestic tourists. Vietnam’s tourism industry has always closely connected with ASEAN countries and partners in the aim of achieving sustainable and prosperous development goals./.